LOS ANGELES - Heiress Paris Hilton said Wednesday it was her claustrophobia that caused the most problems while doing time in a California jail.

Hilton, in her first post-pokey interview, told CNN's Larry King she had a "panic attack" when first placed in her cell.

"I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't eating," she said, and when told she would have to return to jail after being sent home by the sheriff, "I was terrified." But she said she got through her 23 days of incarceration by meditating, reading letters, writing in a journal and "I would just close my eyes and imagine I was somewhere else in a special place."

Hilton told King she feels her jail time for violating probation for her alcohol-related driving infraction "is a blessing in disguise." She said doesn't view herself as a criminal, wants to become a good role model for girls and will show people who she really is. She said she wants to help raise money to help children and fight diseases such as breast cancer.

"This is a new beginning for me. There is just so much more to me than what people think," she said.